The Return of A
by lovelylilylunapotter
Summary: It's been years since the Liars were in high school and tortured by 'A'; now they all have children who are leading happy lives. But not for long! The mysterious 'A' is back, but this time, she's tormenting the Liars' kids, blackmailing them to do dangerous things as they deal with troubling love lives and family issues. Will the Liars and their kids be okay? Read more to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Here is some background information that will be useful for the story.**

**Spencer and Toby have two kids: Carla and Taylor**

**Hanna and Caleb have three kids: Selena, Mara, and Ryan**

**Aria and Ezra have two kids: Tomas and Lily**

**Emily and Paige have one kid: Amanda (vitro) **

**Without further ado, happy reading! **

Taylor's POV:

Brring! Brring! My alarm clock creates a deathly racket on my nightstand. With a groan, I lazily reach over and shut it off. The intense red light blares 7:00. With a sigh, I clamber off of my bed and do a couple of early morning stretches.

"Taylor! Are you up?"

I yell back, "Yes, Mom!"

As I run a comb through my hair, I talk to my sister. "Hey Carl. Excited for your first day of school?"

My sister is busy applying a heavy coat of makeup to her face. With a sly grin, I ask, "Who're you getting all ready for?"

With a huff, she replies, "Uhh…Nobody. What about you?"

When she swivels around to see me with an unhappy, pained expression my face, her smile melts away. "Who is it?"

I sniffle, "It's like he doesn't even notice me. And it's not like Dad would let me date him anyways. Besides, he's already over the moon about Selena Rivers."

She throws me a look full of sympathy, "It's okay, Tay. I promise, you'll find that special guy one day."

I choke out, "I've already found him."

She pats my shoulder, "It's okay, you'll find someone else. Maybe God is trying to tell you something, that you deserve someone better."

"But he's just so perfect."

My sister looks confused, "Like how?"

I whisper, "You wouldn't understand. I don't want you to be late to class. We should get going."

Still looking concerned, my sister starts walking out of the room, "I hope you feel better. If you ever need someone to talk to, just know that I'll always be there for you."

Offering her a gracious smile, I grab a bite of toast before jogging to school. Just as I enter the building, I run into the very last person I want to see, Tomas Fitz.

I trip over his foot and go sprawling; he drops all of his books. In a haste, he catches me. "Careful."

I gush, "H—hey. I'm so sorry Tomas. I didn't see you there."

Mara Rivers, who's standing there in her extremely short skirt, applies a bit of makeup to her face, batting her eyelashes and clearly flirting with Tomas. "Yeah right, she just likes you."

I blush furiously, "Sh—shut up, Mara. Stop spreading rumors."

Tomas shoots me a grin, "See you later."

I ask, "Wait, not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here?"

He sighs, "Oh I just came here to see Selena off."

My heart sinks; great, he is clearly crazy about Selena Rivers. I can't help but feel jealous of her. Literally every guy in our school falls at her feet; she's just that gorgeous, and she enjoys all of their attention. Me? I'm a whole lot better. I don't care about anyone's attention except for Tomas'.

As he waves goodbye to me, I feel a pang in my heart, "Oh. Good luck, for your year at UPR I mean."

He nods, 'Thanks, and you too. I hope you have a great year."

Yes. The worst part. He goes to UPR, which means that he's already in college and 21 years old. He's five years older than me. I know that he probably thinks of me as this little kid, and my parents would never approve of our relationship even if he did happen to fall for me, because apparently, he's too old for me. Well, correction. My mom would be okay with that, especially since one of her best friends dated someone seven years older than her when she was in high school. But my dad… I don't think so.

I watch Tomas walk away and sigh. I can't help but notice how cute his butt looks in those shorts.

But who cares? It's not like he'll ever fall for me anyways. Letting out a long sigh, I head to my morning class. Math. Boring. I hate school; the only plus is that I get to see my best friend, Lily Fitz. Since I go over to her house a lot, I get to see her older brother, Tomas, a lot. But that's not why she's my best friend. Her mom and my mom were really good high school friends, so we practically grew up together. It used to be me, Amanda, Mara, and Lily, but Mara split off because she cared about being popular, and Amanda just had different interests. I'm still friends with Amanda, but Mara…We're sworn enemies.

It takes all of my might to get through all of my classes, especially since Mara keeps making snide remarks, but somehow I manage to do it without falling asleep halfway through. At the end of the day, I start heading to my locker. My English teacher had to hold me back a couple of minutes, so everyone else is gone. At least I think everyone else is gone.

Just then, I see the second most popular guy in our grade, approach me. "Hey Taylor."

I glance at him oddly; he's never really spoken to me before. "Hey…uh"

"Andy," he offers.

"Right. Andy." I say stupidly, unsure of what else to say.

"So…" he leans against my locker, "How about dinner at Chalet's tonight, sweet cheeks?"

I try not to sound too annoyed; who is he to call me sweet cheeks? "Umm…Sorry, but no."

He sighs, "Oh, so you're busy. How about some other time? Will you be my girlfriend?"

I stutter, "Uh…I'm sorry, but I already like someone else."

He grabs my arm, squeezing it a little too hard. "So? I bet he's never going to agree to date you."

I squirm uncomfortably; I really don't like the way he keeps squeezing my arm. "I won't go out with you. Can you just stop squeezing my arm?"

He pushes me back against a locker violently, grabbing my shoulders. "What did you say?"

I whimper; he is really starting to scare me. "I—I'm sorry, but no. I'm not interested."

He punches my stomach. "Well too bad, bitch."

He begins to unbutton my shirt, then throws it off recklessly. My voice gets caught in my throat, "Stop. Please."

He laughs cruelly, "No. What are you going to do about it?"

He starts to kiss me, pulling off my pants. I hate the feeling, and tears rush to my eyes. There is no-one else at school, no-one who can help me or save me. "Help!" I yell hopelessly.

He continues to kiss me, trailing down my neck and lower. "Please."

He just bends down and continues to grope me. "Help!"

Just as I fear that no hope will be left, Tomas rounds the corner, fury emanating from his eyes.

Throwing a punch at Andy, he yells, "You bastard!"

A few teeth get knocked loose from Andy's mouth, and I cringe as blood trickles down his face. Tomas continues to pound him, almost until he knocks him unconscious, but I quickly stop him. "Stop, Tomas. Stop!"

He stops in midair, "Fine. For you."

Tears continue to slide down my face, and his face softens a bit. Suddenly, his face turns bright red as he looks down. "Oh…um…"

I hastily pull on my clothes, thankful that my undergarments are still on. "Thanks. For saving me, I mean."

I burst into another bout of tears, and he takes me into his arms. "It's okay, Tay. You're going to be okay."

I continue to sob, shaking. "He—if you hadn't come, he would've done something horrible to me."

He comforts me, "It's okay, I promise. Let's get you home. You'll be alright."

Nodding, I flimsily get up, clinging to his arm in fear as he leads me to his car. Beep.

I glance down at my phone. One new text message.

**You got away with that one, **_**sweet cheeks**_**. But you know what they say about lucky ducks. Next time you won't have the hot college dude to save your neck. Better watch your back.**

**A**

**So do you like Taylor with Tomas? Tomas with Mara? **

**Review and let me know! Five reviews and I'll update in 1-2 days. Yours truly, the author.**


	2. Chapter 2

Mara's POV:

I skip into the kitchen. "Hey guys!"

They're all stony faced and refuse to look me. Rolling my eyes, I offer my younger brother a high-five. "Hey, Ryan. How was your first day of school?"

He sighs, "Bad. My crush is now officially dating someone."

I throw him a look full of pity, "Aww, that's alright. She'll come to you eventually."

He shakes his head, "Can you tell me how to get a girl to like me?"

Before I can answer, my sister does it for me, her voice bitter and full of loathing. "Don't you get relationship advice from her, Ryan. You don't want to go asking help from two-faced bitches that break their sister's hearts by cheating with their sister's boyfriends."

My mouth drops wide open, and I retort, "Come on, Selena, it's been months, and I did you a favor. If it weren't for me, you'd be married to a bastard who'd go to clubs every night and ride every single girl that has a sexy ass and big boobs."

My parents harshly reprimand me, "Mara, your thirteen year old brother is in the room! None of that talk! Ryan, off to your room. We are having a serious discussion."

Selena bursts into tears, "Why do you have to be so darn mean to me, Mara? You knew I was dating Jake, and we were engaged. How could you sleep with my fiancé?"

I clamp my mouth shut, feeling extremely guilty. "Oh my god, Selena, how many times do I have to tell you? Jake forced me to drink a bunch of alcohol, and he was the one who dragged me into a room. For your information, I never tried to seduce him or anything like that. He was the one, who was completely sober, who put a bunch of alcohol in my system, threatening to hurt you if I didn't oblige, and sleeping with me. I was too wasted at that point to have any common sense to not sleep with him."

Selena shakes her head slowly. "Bullshit, Mara. Jake would never do something like that. He loved me like nothing else, and he always treated you like a little sister. There's no way in hell he fed you a bunch of alcohol and forced you. Besides, wouldn't this be considered rape if he forced you?"

I practically yell, "I never stopped him or said that I didn't want to, so of course it's not considered rape."

"Well, why didn't you stop him?"

I seethe, "Because as I already said before, I was too wasted to make any right decisions."

Selena rolls her eyes, "You're the biggest liar I've ever seen, Mara. Jake would never do something like that. I know it. The only reason he slept with you was because you seduced him."

I count to ten in my head, "For the last time, no, I did not seduce him; it was the opposite, really. But since you think that he's such a goody-goody angel who'd never do anything wrong, why aren't you forgiving Jake?"

Her face turns stony like ice, "Even if you did seduce him, he had no right to give in to that and sleep with you."

Tears slide down her cheeks, "We both vowed to only sleep with each other, but he broke his promise without a thought just because a girl seduced him. He cheated on me, and it may not have been his fault, or initiated by him, but you and I both know very well that he could have stopped it. He could have denied you."

I try to protest, "Mara, I swear, it's not my fault. But I'm sorry anyways. Why won't you believe me?"

She shakes her head, "Just go, Mara. I never want to look at you again."

I burst in tears, "Mom, Dad, do you at least believe me?"

Caleb looks torn, while Hanna simply looks disgusted, "Mara, I'm sorry, but this is outrageous. We all knew Jake; he was such a good, polite young man, and I know he'd never do something like that."

"Great, so now you believe him over your own daughter?" I say dramatically.

My mother's face softens, "Mara, I'm sorry, but you've been known to lie, and you've gotten in trouble so many times. Besides, some of your friends' parents informed me that you've been sleeping around with other boys to hurt their girlfriends. What's to say you're not doing the same exact thing to your sister?"

I choke out, "Mom, I would never do that to Selena. I don't even lie to you anymore."

Caleb shakes his head, "You still lie, Mara. I know about Violet, Jake, Dimitri, Xander… I could name hundreds of other examples where you've lied to us recently. You sneak out of the house, you used to do pot, you drink alcohol, you sleep with other girls' boyfriends to make them break up. You've turned into some abysmal creature, Mara, unlike the sweet little girl you used to be. How can you expect us to believe you?"

My mom continues, "And Jake was a perfect young man. We've had him over for dinner for so many years, and I know for a fact that he truly loved Selena. Plus, he always thought of you as a little sister. He never touched drugs once in his life, unlike you, he had no alcohol until that day, and he was committed to Selena, unlike you. I'm sorry, but all the evidence points against you. Are you seriously expecting us to believe that Jake forced you when he was absolutely crazy about Selena and committed to her?"

It's true; Jake did seem to be over the moon about Selena, and it was hard even for _me_ to believe he wanted to sleep with me.

I shake my head slowly, "I just can't believe you guys won't believe me. You know what, I deserve a better family."

Grabbing a coat and my wallet, I dash out of the house, only glancing back to catch a straggling glimpse of my mother's shocked face.

As I jog along on the sidewalk, I pretend not to care, almost like I never really liked my family and wanted to disown them all along. But in reality, I feel devastated.

I have no clue where to go. I mean, I can't exactly pop back into the living room and say, "Hey guys. I'm back." There's this pang, this emptiness in my heart. I really don't want to leave my house, but what other option do I have? Selena doesn't seem on the track of forgiving me anytime soon, and my parents are probably already rejoicing at the thought of me, the 'abysmal creature,' according to my dad, gone from the house.

I round the corner to Walnut Street, ringing the doorbell to my best friend Kate's house. She opens the door quickly. "Hey…uh Mara."

She seems really uncomfortable, so I greet her, "Hey Kate. Can I come in?"

She hesitates, "Uh…I don't think that would be such a good idea. What are you doing here?"

A look of annoyance passes across my face. Why is she being so rude and cold towards me. "What's going on? We're bffs."

She snidely remarks, "Were bffs."

"What?"

She sighs, "Mara, let me blunt. Frankly, you're getting a little boring. Besides, I never liked those games you used to play."

"What games?"

She hunts for words, "Does it really matter? We're over, Mara."

I sigh, "Please Kate. I just sort of walked out on my family, and they're not exactly going to welcome me back with open arms if I return home. They're all really mad at me, and I have nowhere else to go. Can I just, I don't know, crash at your house for a few days until things cool down?"

She shakes her head, "Sorry, no can do, Mara. My parents are out of town, and they specifically said not to invite anyone over. And my boyfriend's here; we were planning to spend the weekend together, by ourselves."

I roll my eyes, "Don't you think you should choose your friend over some dumb boy?"

She hisses back at me, "First off, you're not my friend anymore. And he's not just a dumb boy."

"Who is it?"

She smiles sweetly, though I can tell it's fake, "Oh, so you want to know who it is. Honey! Honey!"

She turns around and calls him.

A scrawny boy with shaggy brown hair and cute blue eyes rounds the corner, yawning. "Yeah sweetie?"

My jaw drops open. He drops the piece of toast he's holding and quickly gestures to me, "I can explain. I—"

Kate cuts off his rant, turning to me and smiling a sweet, tormenting smile. "You're not the only one who can play boyfriend stealing games."

Bam! She slams the door in my face, and before I know it, the tears start sliding down my face. I curl up into a little ball and sit there on her front steps, crying my eyes out. It's not long before I fall into a daze. After what seems like hours, I vaguely notice a black car pull up next to me. Someone with a soft voice and muscular but gentle arms lifts me up slowly, leading me to his car. And then everything goes black.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily's POV:

I can hear loud music coming from my brother's room, nearly blasting my eardrums out. It has just been a hour since he got home, and I'm already tired of his presence.

With a groan, I lift my head off of my desk; I almost fell asleep while trying to do my math homework. Mara Rivers kept making a bunch of snide remarks about how I'm an 'artsy freak' during class, so I couldn't pay attention at all, and now I don't know what to do.

And the loud music blaring from my brother's room is not helping. At all.

I stomp into his room and nearly shout, "What the hell, Tom! I'm trying to do some work here."

He just cranks up the volume with a grin. "Too bad, sis. Why don't you try taking a break and having some fun? Ever heard of having a social life?!"

I chug a pillow at him. "Shut up! I would normally hang with Tay, but she hasn't responded to any of my texts."

Tom's face falls, and noticing his pained expression, I instantly hush up. "What happened?"

He, for once, turns off his music, looking extremely nervous. "She uh… I think you should go and visit her, Lily. You are the closest to her, after all. I mean, well, I don't know how to tell you this, but she—she got hurt."

"What?" I explode, "How come I didn't know about this until now?"

My brother shrugs. "Tay asked me not to tell anyone."

I throw him a confused look. "Then why are you telling me now?"

"Because she… I'm scared for her, and I don't want this to happen again. Maybe you should go talk to her and see how to prevent this."

I pull on my jacket. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I'll be back in a few."

Throwing my brother one last reassuring smile, I dash out of my house and clamber into my car, driving to her house quickly and ringing the doorbell. Spencer opens it up with a small smile. "Hey Lily."

"Oh hi Mrs. Cavanaugh. I just came here to see—"

Spencer chuckles. "Oh I know who you're here for. Taylor's up in her room."

I throw her a gracious smile and barge into my friend's room, taking one look at her black eye and bursting out, "What happened to you?"

"I ran into a pole." Taylor mumbles.

I snort. "Yeah right. Tomas told me."

Taylor swivels around in her chair, "He told you? What? I told him not to tell anyone!"

Pure fury emanates from her eyes, so I say, "Woah! Chill, Tay. It's okay; he was just being caring, and he was worried about you, is all. So what really happened?"

Tay sighs. "Promise not to tell anyone?"

"Of course." I offer her a small smile.

Taking a deep breath, she blurts out, "Andy asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said no, so he started trying to assault me."

My eyes literally bulge out. "Oh my god, what? That idiot. I'm going to kill him. How dare he try to do something like that to my friend?!"

Taylor sighs. "Thank god Tomas was there just in time to save me."

"What? Tomas as in my brother? Why was he even at school?" I ask in disbelief.

A look of hurt flashes across her face as she rolls her eyes. "Oh, he was there to apparently see off Selena Rivers."

A dreamy look passes across her face. "But yeah, he seemed like a hero to me then, honestly. I mean, he literally saved my life."

"You really like him, don't you?" I ask, a look of sympathy resting on my face.

She sighs. "Yeah, but please, don't tell him. Or anyone else, really."

I take her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry. I would never betray your trust."

Taylor hushes up. "But that's not even the worst part. There was this person who sent me a text message."

She pulls out her phone and shows me what it says.

**You got away with that one, **_**sweet cheeks**_**. But you know what they say about lucky ducks. Next time you won't have the hot college dude to save your neck. Better watch your back.**

**A**

My eyes bulge out. "Who the hell is this? Did you try responding?"

She nods. "I haven't gotten a response yet. And it's a blocked, private number."

I cluck. "This is serious. This person, whoever it is, seems to be, almost, well, threatening you."

Taylor takes a deep breath. "Yeah. When he or she or whoever it is was referring to 'next time', it seemed like she's planning to launch an attack on me."

I furrow my brows. "You're right. What does she mean, next time? That obviously means she's going to get you. Or wait, what if she's the one who sent Andy after you?"

My eyes widen, and I feel astonished, feeling like I've come to the bottom of this.

Taylor spurts out, "Or what if 'A' _is _Andy?!"

We both look at each other, equally delighted that we have potential ideas and disturbed that someone is trying to hurt Taylor this badly.

I sigh. "Whatever the case, you really need to tell your parents."

Taylor looks thoughtful. "Maybe I do."

Suddenly her phone beeps. As she look down, her face instantly drains of color, and she lets out a little squeak, her eyes widened in fear.

"What? What happened? Did 'A' send something else to you?"

Taylor instantly powers off her phone, nervously saying, "No, she didn't say anything, anything at all."

However, by looking at her guilty face, I can clearly tell that 'A' did send her a message. Noting that Taylor looks totally creeped out, I decide not to push this issue at the moment. "So…how about we tell your parents."

"No!" Taylor screams, "We can't."

I look confused. "Why?"

She looks frustrated. "We just can't, okay?"

I am absolutely bewildered. "But you were okay with it, just like, a minute ago. What happened?"

She snaps at me, "Nothing. Can you stop nosing into my business?"

My jaw drops wide open. "What the hell, Taylor?! I'm your _best friend_, and we tell each other everything!"

Noting how she avoids looking at my face, I suddenly get suspicious. "Or do we?"

Taylor says, "Look, you are my best friend, but there are some things I'd rather keep private."

"Yeah, but you just told me all about this. Why are hiding something from me, like, a minute later?"

She sobs, "Stop. Please. I can't tell you. I just can't."

"Why?!"

She looks pained. "Because…'A' sent me something. And I can't tell you. If I tell you, everything will go wrong. My life will be ruined."

I let out a long breath. "I'm just trying to help you, okay?"

She nods. "Fine, but please, don't ask me anything else about this. I need to deal with it on my own."

I nod. "Okay, Tay, but I'm telling your parents about this no matter what. I can't risk you getting in danger."

Taylor nearly shouts, "No. Don't! I said, my life will get ruined."

I shout, "Yeah, and 'A' will hurt you again if I don't tell."

My friend growls in frustration. "If you tell my parents, I will never talk to you again. For the rest of my life."

Though it pains my heart, I softly say, "Fine. Have it your way. I care about our friendship, but I don't want you to get hurt. That's the most important thing. I have to tell your parents. I'm sorry."

She just sits there in silence as I storm out of her room, feeling thousands of emotions at once. Passing by the living room, I see her older sister, Carla.

"Hey Carl! Where are your parents?"

She smiles. "Hey Lily. They're just out for a date night."

I grimace. "Oh, well, thanks for letting me know."

I make a mental note to tell her parents tomorrow morning, before 'A' can do any more harm. Once I walk out of their house, I notice my mom and a strange man wearing a brown leather jacket strolling down the street.

"Ezra would get so mad if he knew that I was spending time with you."

I instinctively hide behind a bush, though I know that it's wrong.

The man continues, "Oh Aria, I'm sure he'll eventually come around to the idea."

My mom says, "I just don't know how to break it to him. He's going to be so upset."

The man throws her a look of sympathy. "Well, we're almost at your house. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have figured it out by then."

He waves goodbye to her, planting a kiss on her cheek and embracing her before vanishing into the darkness of the night.

Millions of thoughts are racing through my brain. _What the hell just happened? He kissed her! He kissed my mom! It was on the cheek; it could have been a friendly gesture. But what would my dad get so upset. Uh…possibly that my mom is cheating on him. No!_

Suddenly, my phone beeps. I pull it out and gasp as I take a look at the text message.

**Daddy's not going to be so happy about this, is he? Send this picture to him, or Mommy will bring home the divorce papers tomorrow, pen in hand and ready to sign.**

**Kisses,**

**A**

Underneath the message is a picture of the strange man kissing a woman whose back is turned. Judging by the face angle and hair style, I can tell exactly who it is. My mom.

**What do you think? Is Aria really in a secret relationship with 'the strange man?' Will Lily send Ezra the picture? Will she get the chance to tell Spencer and Toby about 'A?' What is Taylor hiding from her?**

**Review and let me know what you think (or hope) is going to happen. 5 reviews and maybe I'll consider keeping Ezria together! Just kidding! I love Ezria…**

**But still…Aria might be cheating on Ezra!**

**5 reviews and I'll update in 1-2 days.**


	4. Chapter 4

Amanda's POV:

"Hey sweetie. Do you want something to eat?"

My mom, Emily, leans against the doorframe of my room.

I shake my head. "I'm good. Thanks, though."

With a sigh, Emily strolls casually over to my bed and takes a seat. "Is everything alright? You seem a bit off color today."

"People at school have been teasing me."

My mom glances at me with sympathy. "It's okay, Amanda. Things will blow over eventually. In the meantime, I just want you to be strong, okay?"

I nod, but tears slip from my eyes. "Don't people have hearts, though, Mom?"

She scoots closer to me, taking me in an embrace. "Oh honey, there are good and bad people in the world. Don't let them get to you. What have they been saying?"

I look away from her, "They're teasing me about how I have two moms."

My mother's face pales, and she sighs. "Don't mind all of that, Amanda. People are just stupid."

I nod. "Yeah I know. It's just that everyone seems to treat me differently, and they automatically assume that I'm gay just because my parents are."

My mom frowns. "People shouldn't make assumptions. But please, just try to brush their comments all away, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll try. But mom, was I adopted?" I reply.

A nervous look passes across her face. "Of course. Your real parents passed away in a car crash, so we took you in. Well I've got to go; Paige is getting back in a few."

Once she leaves the room, I let out a long breath, sighing. Things just seem to be so complicated. All of a sudden, my phone beeps, and I glance down. One next text message.

**Poor Mandy. Things in your life will never be dandy. Is Mommy, or shall I say, Mommy #1, really telling the truth? Go to 117 Lancaster Avenue tonight to find out, and go alone!**

**Yours forever,**

**A**

I wrinkle my nose. Who is this? Is this some loser's idea of a joke? I hit reply.

**Who is this? Is this a prank?**

I send the message and glance anxiously at my phone for thirty straight minutes, yet 'A' still hasn't replied.

With a sigh, I fall back on my bed, closing my eyes. Now, I can never be sure if this is a prank or not.

A small thought keeps hitting me.

_What if Mom isn't telling the truth? What if—what if my parents never died in a car crash? What if there's a reason she's lying? What if she's keeping them away from me for a reason? Could 'A' be my real parents? But why are they contacting me now?!_

After a few minutes of contemplation, I make up my mind. I am going to 117 Lancaster Avenue. I have to know the truth, no matter what.

Pulling on my boots and a light jacket, I head out of my house. "Bye mom!"

"Where are you going?" She asks.

"Oh…uh, to Taylor's house."

She smiles at me and continues cooking. I feel extremely guilty about lying to her, but what can I do? She'd never let me go somewhere alone at night. And I just have this gut feeling that I'm going to find out something important tonight. Something life-changing.

Pulling out my phone, I dial my boyfriend Jacob's number.

"Hey Jake."

"Hey Mandy. What's up?"

I say, "Uh…Are you busy?"

"No…why? Do you want me to take you out tonight?"

I shake my head. "No, I just need to get somewhere. And you know I don't have a car. Can you drive me there?"

"Yeah, sure. Of course."

He promptly ends the call and arrives at my doorstep a few minutes later. "Jake!" I fly at him, engulfing him in a hug.

He merely smiles at me while I climb into his car and gesture towards him. Once we start going, he asks, "So…where exactly are we going?"

I show him the address, and he promptly punches it in to his GPS. "A church? Why do you want to go to a church at this time of night?"

I hesitate. "I…uh, Taylor asked me to come there. Apparently, we need to talk in private about something."

I feel extremely guilty about lying to him, especially when he nods. "Yeah…okay. That's weird, though."

I nod. "Yeah, I have no clue why she wants me there."

We sit in silence for the rest of the way there. When he finally parks his car, I kiss him quickly. "Thanks for dropping me here. You're the most amazing boyfriend ever."

He starts getting out of his car. "Amanda, this place looks really creepy. I'm not letting you go in there alone."

My heart starts racing; 'A' told me to come alone. Now what am I supposed to do?

I nervously laugh. "Relax, Jake, it's just Taylor, not some monster. Besides, she told me to come alone and is not going to be very happy if you show up."

He merely grunts in response. "Fine, but call me if you need anything, okay?"

I smile; Jake is the sweetest guy ever. He cares so much about me. It just gets really annoying sometimes; he can be pretty paranoid.

Trudging through the scattered piles of leaves, I open up the large wooden door to the church, marveling the rows of seats and stained glass. "Hello?"

My voice echoes throughout the large room. I continue searching throughout the place, until my phone beeps, and I glance down.

**Upstairs. Now.**

**A**

I roll my eyes; who is this person to order me around? But whatever. I need to find out the truth. Squinting my eyes, I locate the stairs and tip-toe up them, trying not to make too much noise, as the stairs are creaking.

Once I reach the top floor, I grimace. Everything is deathly dark, and I can barely see. Plus, the floor is covered in cobwebs, and I have this eerie feeling that it might collapse and sent me falling to my death.

Shaking my head, I wander around for a few minutes, waiting for this 'A' person to show up.

BAM!

Something knocks me to the ground roughly, and I sit up, rubbing my temple, only to be hit in the head again. I feel extremely dizzy, and I reach out desperately for my phone, about to call for help.

A hooded figure wearing a dark mask gags me, tying my feet and hands together.

I thrash out in hopes that someone will hear me, but my boyfriend is too far away and solid walls separate us. My screams get muffled as the figure clonks me on the head again, and I fall, feeling woozy.

My head is pounding, and all I want to do is get out of here. The ropes that bound my wrists and ankles together burn my skin severely, and tears start slipping from my eyes. I should have known that this was all a trap.

But who would want to hurt me so badly? I let out another muffled scream as he or she or whoever it is shoves me into a cramped closet. I thrash around, trying to lift my hands up to get out of the small room.

But before long, blood trickles down my face, and I feel my heartbeat slowing. The world is dizzy and my movements seem to be in slow motion. It isn't long before everything goes black.

**Is Amanda okay? Will she be able to escape? Did 'A' murder her? Who is 'A'? Will Jake be able to help her? Do you like Jake with Amanda? Was she really adopted? Is Emily lying to her? **

**Review and let me know what you hope (or think) is going to happen! 5 reviews and I'll update in 1-2 days. **


	5. Chapter 5

Taylor's POV:

My family and I relax on the couch, watching a movie and munching on popcorn. Brring! Brring!

My mom groans. "Ugh…Who's calling at this time of night? I'd appreciate if you were a dear and got it for me, Tay."

I grunt but lazily get up off of the couch. "Sure."

Picking up the phone, I press talk. "Hello?"

"Oh hi, Taylor. This is Amanda's mom."

I grimace. Why is she calling at this time of night?

She continues, "Would you mind giving the phone to Mandy; I—I'm sorry, she's not picking up her cell phone."

I look around and try to not to sound like I think she's crazy. "Um…Amanda's not here."

"What? But she told me she was going to your house."

"Well, she never came over to my house, and I never saw her anywhere near here."

She sounds frantic. "What? But—but she told me she was going to your house? What if she got kidnapped? What if—I"

I interrupt her, "It's okay, Mrs. McCullers. It really is. You'll find her."

My mom pauses the movie, looking up at me anxiously. "Is everything alright?"

Mrs. Fields is now full out crying, and she sniffles from time to time, "Oh, my poor baby. It hurts to imagine what they're doing to her. Why did I send her alone?"

I say, "Uh…I think my mom wants to talk you."

I give my mom the phone and listen intently to their conversation.

"Hello, Paige? Yeah, what's going on?"

"Amanda—Amanda's gone missing."

My mom's face instantly drains of color. "It's okay, Paige. I need you to be calm for me, okay? And call the police. Now."

"I—I will. Emily's going out to look for her. She's driving all around town, and oh…I just don't know what to do."

"It's okay, it's okay. Be calm. I'm sure you'll find her."

Paige continues sobbing. "What if we never get her back?"

I try not to sound to annoyed as I whisper to my mom. "Mom, Mandy's probably just hanging in secret with someone that her parents don't approve of. It's not like this is serious; I don't get why you're freaking out so much."

My mom furiously replies, "Taylor, you have no idea what Emily and I and the rest of our friends had to go through in high school, so please…Stay out of this."

I clamp my mouth shut, feeling stung. "What happened, when you were in high school, I mean?"

My mom's face turns stony. "I don't really want to talk about it. If you really want to know, ask your dad."

When my dad goes into the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich, I follow him. "Dad, what happened to Mom in high school?"

He throws me a look. "Taylor, will you just let up? This really upsets your mother."

I say, "I just want to know. Besides, she was the one who told me to ask you."

My dad sighs. "Fine. I'll tell you. Your mom and her friends got threatening messages from this person who called herself 'A'.

I pale, feeling like my heart has dropped. "Oh. Did they ever find out who it was?"

My dad sighs. "It was a team of people. I was part of them for awhile because I wanted to protect your mother. And your mother joined too, for a short time. But apart from us, there were evil people on that team."

"Why, what happened?"

He gently grasps my shoulders. "Look, I can't tell you much. Just know that it was very serious and had a lot to do with murder and kidnapping. It was that serious. So don't joke about it or take it lightheartedly with your mother."

Murder? Kidnapping? "Who was murdered?"

My dad looks at me. "A good friend of your mother's. Alison DiLaurentis."

"Wait, who was on the 'A' team?"

I anxiously wait for his answer. "Well…You wouldn't know them. Hanna's ex best friend. An old friend of Hanna's. Cece Drake. Your aunt and a cop…but they were being blackmailed…"

He trails off, so I say, "And…well, are these people still living in Rosewood?"

He sighs. "Maybe…I haven't really looked into it. I mean, the 'A' messages have stopped, so there's no point."

I purse my lips; no, they haven't stopped. And now 'A' is targeting me. But why? What does she, or shall I say, the team, have against me?

I casually ask my mother. "Hey Mom. I was just wondering. Dad told me about the messages. What if, by some strange chance, 'A' is now targeting, say, your children."

My mom looks at me sharply. "What makes you say that? You haven't gotten any messages, have you?"

I hastily cover up my words. "No. No—of course not. I just thought maybe this 'A' person might have kidnapped Mandy. After all, Dad told me this 'A' business had to do with kidnaps…and murder."

My mom looks doubtful. "You really think so?"

"No, it's just a suggestion."

My mom smiles. "Thanks for trying, but I don't think that's it. Well, I'm headed off to Emily's house. Moral support."

I quickly say, "Uh…can I come? I mean, maybe I'd be able to take a look around her room to try to figure something out."

My mom grimaces. "Taylor, it's not the time to play detective. And tomorrow's a school day; you need to get some sleep."

I gesture dramatically. "Mom, my _friend_ is missing."

After staring at me for a long time, Spencer finally says, "Okay. Fine. But you're leaving after an hour."

I nod and follow my mom out of our house, walking the distance to Mandy's house. Paige opens the door. "Spencer, Mandy. Come in."

Her face is tear-stained, and I feel extremely guilty for assuming that this was nothing. After my mom and Paige talk for awhile, I say, "Hey, can I take a look upstairs?"

Paige nods. "Yeah. The police are going to be here soon, so try not to mess with anything."

I nod and trudge slowly up the stairs. Once I get into her room, my phone instantly beeps. I pull it out, gasping. One new text message.

**Want to know where your little friend is? Check in her cupboard and maybe you'll find some answers. **

**Best,**

**A**

Taking a deep breath, I shuffle through Mandy's cupboard, until I find a video camera. I pick it up, strapping it around my neck and clicking through the pictures. They're all pictures that I've taken before, years before. With a gasp, I realize that this camera is mine. When I get to the last picture, my eyes nearly bulge out.

Mandy is tied to a wall, gagged, and blood trickling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, the door flings wide open, and I see a bunch of cops march into the room.

The leader smiles evilly and points his gun at me. "Hands up, little girl."

I obey, but say, "What? Why? I'm just the daughter of the lady downstairs. My mom came to visit. I didn't do anything."

"Not. So. Fast." The cop snatches the camera out of my hands. "What've you got here?"

When he says the picture of Mandy, he looks surprised. "Taken today, at just about the time the girl went missing. Well well, Miss Hastings. I don't think your mother would be very proud if she knew what you were up to. Kidnapping your friend. This is a new low, even for the Hastings."

"Don't insult my family, and I swear I didn't take this photo. I just found this camera here."

He shakes his head. "The home screen says Spencer Hastings. This is clearly your camera. Come on now, let up. The quicker you tell us where your little friend is, the less punishment you'll get. Maybe one or two years in juvy, at most, or do you want to let her die of starvation or dehydration and be a victim of the death penalty."

I protest, "It wasn't me. Someone stole this camera."

He shakes his head. "Things aren't exactly in your favor, Miss Hastings."

I grit my teeth. "Have you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?"

He nods. "Of course, but you're guilty."

"How can you be so sure?"

He just smiles. "I'm always right. We'll do fingerprint analyses. Until you tell me where she is, you'll be at the station."

I widen my eyes. "Wait, so I'm under arrest?"

He nods and handcuffs me, pushing me slowly down the stairs into the living room. My mom takes one look at me and gasps, her smile instantly melting. "What—what's going on?"

The cop sighs. "Your daughter was the one who kidnapped Amanda Fields McCullers."

My mom shakes her head. "I am so disappointed in you, Taylor."

"Mom, it wasn't—"

Paige takes one look at me and hisses, "Never step into my house again, you vile creature."

"Mrs. McCullers, it really wasn't me!"

The cops shrug. "It was her. She even took a picture to prove it."

Once the cop shows Paige the picture of her beaten up daughter, she throws up onto the floor, tears running down her face. "I just want my Mandy back."

My mom's eyes are fresh with sadness. "I can't stand to be in the same room as you, Taylor. Please, take her away."

I protest, "Mom, aren't you going to pay the fee to get me out?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. You deserve punishment, obviously, for what you've done. But you also deserve a future. I'll think about it."

"Mom! Please!"

The cop shoves me out of the house and into the darkness, hoisting me in the police car. Just as I step in, my phone beeps. One new text message.

**It's so fun to play with puppets like you. I can bend your arms, lift your legs, even break your neck if I want. Admit that it was you, or Mandy will breathe her last. **

**A**


End file.
